Growing Climate Smart Grazing in the Condamine River Basin

Southern Queensland Landscapes is excited to announce the launch of the Growing Climate Smart Grazing in the Condamine River Basin project under the Australian Government’s Regional Delivery Partners (RDP) Program. This four-year project is dedicated to supporting our region’s landholders build more sustainable, productive and climate-resilient grazing systems. Through a combination of on-ground support, training, and collaboration with First Nations partners, the project will deliver practical solutions to improve ground cover, increase soil carbon, and boost the long-term health of our agricultural landscapes.

This project will support landholders in priority areas to take practical steps to enhance the health and productivity of their land, including:

• Planting Multi-species Cover Crops: Experiment with planting diverse cover crops that build soil carbon, enhance fertility, and provide living ground cover through dry times.

• Pasture Renovation: Upgrade your paddocks by rejuvenating tired pastures, planting improved perennial species, or introducing legumes to boost soil nitrogen and plant growth.

• Planting Perennial Pasture and Legumes: Integrate resilient native or introduced perennial species and legumes into your grazing system for sustained ground cover, higher productivity, and improved soil health.

• Innovative Ground Cover Strategies: Work with our team to trial new approaches tailored to your farm, such as strip grazing, mulching, or advanced pasture mixes, to keep more ground covered all year round.

• Water Management and Erosion Control: Get guidance to implement practical earthworks, water spreading banks, or small dams that capture rainfall, halt run-off, and protect valuable topsoil.

• Workshops and Training: Join local field days and events to learn practical grazing strategies, soil carbon building, and drought resilience directly from experts and experienced neighbours.

• Environmental Markets and Advice: Learn how your on-farm improvements can open doors to future carbon and biodiversity income streams, with guidance on accessing these emerging opportunities.

• Cultural Fire Management: Participate in planned burns designed with First Nations partners, including mosaic and edge burning techniques. These activities encourage pasture regeneration, manage woody weeds, and reduce bushfire risk.

Project Benefits

Supporting Sustainable Practices: Landholders will receive direct support to adopt climate-smart grazing and land management activities aimed at increasing groundcover, improving water infiltration and retention, and restoring soil health.

Cultural and Scientific Collaboration: The project integrates traditional fire management knowledge from First Nations partners with science-based pasture and landscape management, restoring pasture health and reducing bushfire risk.

Building Knowledge and Skills: We are delivering hands-on workshops, field days, and tailored training to build landholder skills and confidence, with a strong focus on supporting access to emerging carbon and biodiversity markets for future income opportunities.

Where It's Happening

The project is focused in the Condamine River Basin, Queensland.

This project is delivered by Southern Queensland Landscapes and is supported by the Australian Government through funding from the Natural Heritage Trust under the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program.